The sermon of ‘Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali, ‘Alayhi al-Salam, called the Sermon of Means and Connections — Hadith 1

he Al-Waseela on our (asws) right, and on the right of the Messenger (saww) of Allah (azwj) will be a cloud stretching out as far as the eye can see. A Call will come out from it: ‘O people of the Pausing Place! Goodness is for the ones who loved the successor (asws) and believed in the Prophet (saww), the ‘Ummy’ of the Arabs. And the one who disbelieved, so the Fire is Prepared for him. And on the left of Al-Waseela, from the left of the Messenger (saww) of Allah (azwj) will be a shade. A Call will come out from it: ‘O people of the Pausing Place! Goodness is for the ones who loved the successor (asws) and believed in the ‘Ummy’ Prophet (saww), the one (saww) for whom is the High Kingdom. There is no success for anyone, nor happiness for the soul, and the Paradise except for the one who is meeting his Creator (azwj) with the sincerity for these two (asws) and the follower of the stars (Imams (asws)) from these two (asws). Be convinced, O people of Al-Wilayah of Allah (azwj), of the whitening of your faces, and the prestige of your seating, and the honour of your return and your success today, with bliss, facing each other. And O people of the deviation, and the diverters from Allah (azwj), Mighty is His (azwj) Remembrance, and from His (azwj) Messenger (saww), and from His (azwj) Path, and the Flags of the eras, be convinced of the blackening of your faces, and the Wrath of your Lord (azwj), a Recompense of what you used to do before. And there is none from the Messengers (as) who preceded and none from the Prophets (as) of the past except that he (as) had informed his (as) community of the Messenger (saww) to come after him (as), and the good news of the Messenger (saww) of Allah (azwj), and bequeathed to his (as) community, and described him (saww) to his (as) community his (saww) qualities, and that they should follow him (saww) and be upon his (saww) Law, so that they would not stray with regards to him (saww) after him (as). So the ones who would face destruction and straying afterwards would only be after the occurrence of the reasons and the warnings, and having been acquainted with the evidence, and the arguments having been established. So the communities lived in hope about the Messengers (as) and the Prophets (as) to come, if they were in difficult circumstances in the absence of a Prophet (as) after their Prophet (as), in their great difficulties and disasters, so they were at the time in a state of hope. And there have never been a difficulty which was greater, and nor a disaster greater like the difficulties w